J.R. Smith also posted a career-high with 18 points, as he shot 7-of-8 from
the floor and 4-of-5 from the perimeter to help the Eagles (12-13, 5-6 MAC)
notch their first road win in 11 tries this season.

Jauwan Scaife led all scorers with 21 points for the Cardinals (10-14, 4-8),
who saw their modest two-game win streak come to a halt. Majok Majok pulled
down 16 rebounds to go along with his six points.

Ball State grabbed a nine-point lead -- its largest of the game -- on Marcus
Posley's 3-pointer at the 12:22 mark of the opening frame. However, EMU
answered with a 10-3 spurt, and the first half eventually ended in a 24-24
tie.

The Eagles steadily seized control in the second half thanks to a 63-percent
shooting effort from the floor (12-of-19), as they led by as many as 13 with
just under three minutes to play. The Cardinals made only 6-of-20 field goals
in the second half, although four of those buckets came in the final three
minutes as they rallied to make it a 51-48 game on Scaife's jumper with 23
seconds remaining. However, Scaife turned the ball over the next time down the
court, and Bryant capitalized with a layup at the other end to stave off the
threat.

Ball State won the first meeting against EMU on Jan. 9, but the Cardinals made
only 5-of-27 3-pointers in the rematch and could not overcome the Eagles' hot
shooting down the stretch.